album
Brooklyn-based pop band Chairlift: once 'music for haunted houses'
Patrick Wimberly and Caroline Polachek probably never thought their music would end up on a commercial for an apple product. After meeting the duo in Paris, we are advised to go back to the future, turn the sound down on a silent film and crank up our headphones to their fresh electronic pop offering
Yuriy Gurzhy: 'Achtung! The party is Russian-rock-free'
The legendary 'Russendisko' organiser is a notorious DJ and producer in Berlin. The Ukrainian-born musician co-created the club dance event in 1999 and his band Rotfront in 2003 with fellow Jewish Russian and Hungarian 'emigrantskis'. Time for some tea in Cologne
French duo John & Jehn: 'in England, no-one cares about boundaries'
On 29 March a duo like none of the other new faces on the French music scene released their second album, 'Time For The Devil’. Fans of Joy Division and The Velvet Underground, the couple live and compose in London, which might be why their album exudes the feel of the British new wave
Ghinzu: bad boys of Belgian rock
'The more it cuts, the sharper it gets. Ghinzu ? Already counting three 'rock-noise' albums to their name, completely carried away when live and relaxed in interviews, the slogan for the knife is as far as possible from describing how these five partners-in-crime attack the European stage. Interview with John Stargasm and Jean Montevideo, sharper than ever
album, festivals, belgium, brunch, brussels, solidays, culture
Cheese People: 'European' face of Russian music
From the banks of the River Volga just west of the Urals mountains, which mark the geographical border between Europe and Asia, a funky new band is making a big impact on the Russian music scene: an unsigned, energetic female-fronted quartet with a disco-punk sound. We meet backstage in Moscow
album, belarus, interview, brunch, culture, youth, russian federation
Electronic music duo Fuck Buttons: is this music?
From Worcester via Bristol to the world, schoolfriends Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power are fiddling with some old machines across a table in order to make some music. The universal sound goes by ‘drone, pop, noise’
Belgian band Absynthe Minded: 'we’re not playboys'
Since 2002, the acclaimed jazz rockers from Ghent have flirted with an indescribable style. As the Belgian five's tour stops in Paris to celebrate their fourth disc in eight years, we meet to talk about their passion for quality music, platinum albums and the women in their lives
album, belgium, brussels, culture, absynthe minded, concert, music
Annett Louisan: 'I don’t need to go the fake platinum blonde bombshell route anymore'
The breathy German chanson singer hasn’t only changed hair colour over the years - she seems to have done a bit of growing up as well. We catch the 31-year-old entertaining the Franco-German relations ambassador and performing live in Paris for the first time
Music in February: The Rumour Said Fire, Corinne Bailey Rae and Jaga Jazzist
A new British neo-soul album, an old favourite from Denmark's Simon and Garfunkel and five top tracks spanning London via Brooklyn and Oslo - a selection of Europe's music tips of the month
Music in January: Blur, Arsov and Loredana Groza
Electro tickles through folk Slovenian covers to Romanian local heroines, whilst the mighty Britpop band are featured in a new documentary in the UK, premiered last night: your music tips of the month
album, britpop, culture, romania, music, culture calendar, slovenia
L.U.C: 'Poland is not just vodka and pretty girl exports'
Rather than rapping on his new album, producer Lukasz Rostkowski, 29, mixes in historical soundtracks, including the voice of ex-Polish president Lech Walesa. The jazz, trip hop and electro musician explains how a sometimes pessimist view of his country's past has inspired him in his musical projects, for which he has just picked up a 2009 'Passport award' from the journalists at Polityka
album, warsaw, identity, reunification, brunch, poland, music
Staff Benda Bilili, voice of the voiceless in Congo
‘We're all handicapped people, ain't we?’ runs their myspace byline. After more than a month of touring through Europe, this group of paraplegic street musicians from Kinshasa left crowds elated and bewildered almost a year after releasing their debut album Très Très Fort, courtesy of Belgian producer Vincent Kenis of Congotronics fame. A French documentary on the group has been underway for seven years
album, documentary, bands, disable people, record, discrimination, culture
Fever Ray, Peter Bjorn and John: Swedish music right now
Famed in the nineties as the capital of pop, Scandinavia doesn’t seem to have exhausted its creative vein just yet. With a legacy of pop artists such as Aqua and Ace of Base, the northern European music scene is opening up to new sounds, experimenting with new technology and ambient tones, whilst never forgetting its musical past
album, music, cd, culture calendar, scandinavia, leonid kuchma, sweden
‘If I had to choose between sex and performing live with The Whitest Boy Alive...’
One day it was just computers. The next day, god brought instruments. Over the past decade, the Berlin-based band’s polyphonic electronic sound has translated into pure deprogrammed happiness for live dance fans across Europe. We hear the boys from Bergen, Berlin and Toruń out
Music in December: Sally Shapiro, Empire of The Sun and Múm
Featuring: album of the month from Polish rock-turned-pop star Agnieszka Chylinska, favourite disc of the month from an Australian award-winning electronica duo and a tracklist from Paris to keep you warm this winter
Cornershop: 'musicians might as well hand their credit cards over to the man on the street'
Northern English indie band Cornershop give us a talking to about Swiss minarets, metal music and releasing their comeback album - it's been seven years! - cheaply via their website
album, switzerland, bands, downloads, religion, culture, music
Coeur de Pirate: 'when I grow up I will be like Mathieu Chedid!'
Beatrice Martin, 19, was discovered on Myspace in Quebec and is attempting to conquer France. We meet at Cébazat in the Puy-de-Dome region for the opening of the Sémaphore en Chanson festival
album, interview, brunch, coeur de pirate, quebec, youth, music
Music in November: Matias Aguayo, Rodamaal feat Claudia Franco
Music wanderings take us into left-field hedonism this month via the German dance scene with its Spanish house vocals amongst others. Album and playlist of the month as well as a featured favourite album classic
Micachu and the Shapes, Emilie Simon: your music for October
Trendy London recommends its top 5 city tracks, we denote a French-flavoured album of the month and find out who Pájaro Sunrise is
Ólafur Arnalds, Trail of Dead and Turin: your music for September
We’ve rattled up the format of our monthly music tips for the autumn. Catch our Iceland-flavoured album of the month, the top five tracks in September as voted for by our boys and girls in Turin, and an album tip from a correspondent from our network. This month, we hear from Berlin
album, italy, ólafur arnalds, and you will know us by the trail of dead, iceland, culture, music
